Human Nature
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: AU There are times when humans are the worst monsters of them all. There are some who would do anything for wealth and power. Even resurrect an age that could destroy them all. But not everyone's going to let that happen.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes

This is an AU, set far in the future with better technology and to be blunt, a less prosperous earth. It focuses mainly on the research of an ancient civilisation, aka. the age of the Digimon…so should be a fun ride. I got the idea from watching Aliens, but no-one is going into outer space.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

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><p><span>Human Nature<span>

AU There are times when humans are the worst monsters of them all. There are some who would do anything for wealth and power. Even resurrect an age that could destroy them all. But not everyone's going to let that happen.

Kouichi K & Junpei S

Genre/s: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure

Rating: T

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

Blue eyes, dark but encasing a mysterious spark like a gem the gem miners sometimes mined (lapis lazuli they were called), narrowed slightly in concentration as the owner entered the new data in the computer. It was a tedious task, but it was saved a lot of time and resources in the long run…as long as it was done correctly. He wasn't quite sure what was done with the information once it was entered into the database, but at the same time, as an archaeological scientist, it wasn't his job to worry about it. He simply analysed what was brought back to him: fossils, soil quantities and reports, both old and new, then incorporated the new-found knowledge into what they originally knew, updating the database on such occasions, and sometimes, less often now, discovering a species not consistent with any on record and thus creating a new profile for it.

Analysing and discovering was the best part of this job. But with every scientific advancement came the onus of revealing that knowledge to the world so it would be somehow utilised. While looking at prehistoric fossils may not appear as useful or, discovering a cure for cancer for example, this ancient and viable civilisation, they were slowly discovering, had survived and prospered at a time that stretched beyond their geological records. And yet the sedimentation was amazing; each bone structure, each protein filament, meticulously designed. One could even surmise that those structures were relatively recent, if billions of years of decay were not evident on the natural waxy tomb that entrapped and preserved them.

Bits of their habitat were also preserved, and the range of environments in which they survived and diverse surpassed even the Bacteria and Achaea. The closest known kingdom they resembled was Animalia, but as the remnants of further new species were discovered and documented, they found little differences taking on a further divergence. Their protein structure was different, and more lasting; heck, if they could find away to synthesise that, they would be one step closer to eternal youth, and even further, immortality.

But again, that wasn't his job, so there was essentially no use dwelling on it. He was a scientist yes, but not of that sort. It was a long, stepwise process, and were, keying in the last of the updates, checking and saving the fine, was his part to play in all that.

He took the scattered remains of a long gone past and piece by piece wrote their story.

The door slid open, then shut, but he didn't see who had entered, having his back to the entrance as he scanned the data logs as a final check.

'You had a problem with something?' a gruff voice asked, as soon as he located the newly updated file.

These technicians, so impatient. He couldn't help but smile slightly at that as he slipped off the high stool. 'Not with the computers,' he said, somewhat amused, grabbing a sanitised pair of gloves and a mask and slipping them into a pocket of his lab coat.

'I wasn't given any details Kimura-san,' the technician stated.

The scientist sighed, then shook his head in mild exasperations. 'Just Kouichi,' he said, a little tiredly, scanning his key-card through the door. 'We've known each other long enough.'

'Time has no relevance here,' the other countered, following. 'And you call me Shibiyama-kun.'

'That's true,' Kimura Kouichi mused, unlocking another door and gesturing the other in. 'But no-one can deny that time passes.'

'Except when I look at you,' the technician rebuked. 'You haven't aged a day since I first arrived and was put under your partial jurisdiction.'

He said it half jokingly, but that did not change the fact that it was true.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

'The problem?' the chocolate-haired technician questioned.

'Oh…yes.' The other shook his head a moment. 'Gomen nasai, I forgot.' He went over to the microscope and slid a prepared test slide in. 'The fine focus knob isn't adjusting,' he said, turning away. 'And there seems to be something wrong with the light.'

The other took his place. 'The light?' he questioned, fiddling with the knobs a bit, before pulling out his screwdriver and tightening or loosening wires, seemingly at random. A few more fiddling, then: 'There. Your focus is all fixed, butt I don't see anything with the light, except the filament's running low.'

'It's not the filament,' the other clarified, crossing his arms in a thoughtful manner. 'It's this blur sort of light, but only when I first put a slide or sample under the lens. Sometimes.'

'Oh?' The technician looked curious. 'Could you show me?'

The young raven haired scientist nodded, taking the slide that was offered to him in his bare hands and replacing it. To be honest, it was hard to tell what age he was. One could assume at first sight that he was merely fifteen, but not only was that a tad young to live at the scientific institute, let alone be trusted to do the work he did, but the fact that he hadn't seemed to have aged a day in the five years that he, Shibayama Junpei, had been working here, protested quite loudly against that assumption.

He turned his attention back to the microscope, noting the flare of light the other had been talking about. 'Hmm…have you replayed the monitor?'

'I couldn't,' Kouichi pointed out. 'Lack of focus.'

'Ah, of course.'

Junpei frowned a little more over the mechanics, before withdrawing and packing up his equipment with a quick polish. 'It's certainly not anything technical.'

Then he sighed, wondering how it would be to be locked in this facility, day in and day out, never seeing the sun. The real sun anyway; the artificial lighting acted as a pantomime thereof with relatively the same function: providing light and sustaining life. It even stimulated vitamin D synthesis on the skin, even through the protective layers that were frequently adorned. But still, at least _he_ got to sometimes go out with the "digging crew" as he called them; they always required a technician on board, and the assortment deployed in the institute rotated through the roster.

'What is it?' The blue eyes regarded him curiously.

'Don't you ever get sick of this place?' he asked, knowing full well he was speaking out of place, but knowing at the same time that the other was right; five years was a long time, and seeing as, since the very beginning, he was a technician bad been assigned to him.

The other looked at the door before answering. 'Sometimes, this place feels like a cage. But it's the only home I've ever known. And I have family here.'

Junpei nodded. He understood how that felt; his own family was far away right now, and the occasional times he saw them, he couldn't help but wish he was with them more often. But he needed to work, there was no two ways about that, and this was an extremely well paying field. Even when it did take people away from their homes for long periods of time, often to isolated places where few humans worked.

It was remarkable what existed beyond current civilisation.

Which reminded him.

'We're returning to Tokyo soon. The scout of this are is almost complete.'

The other nodded. Seeing as his father was one of those who led the expedition, it didn't really matter to him. 'You'll be visiting your family again?'

'Yep.' Junpei showed off his grin, glad for the opportunity to simply 'talk' now that all the business was taken care of, and the digger crew either hadn't arrived yet or didn't have anything to report. 'Feels like I haven't seen them in forever; can never keep track of time in this place.' To be honest, the only reason he knew that five years had passed was because their equipment (the technicians, not the scientists) were updated every five years, and he was still in the process of breaking in the sew set. Despite the fact it was hard to keep track of time when out of contact with most of the world, he knew it couldn't have been too long ago. Watches were pretty useless, what with all the metal that was dug up and tossed around. All equipment they used were resistant to metal interference. They had to be.

The pager in the lab coat pocket going off interrupted any further conversation. Kouichi quickly scanned through the message, before tapping a reply and slipping his gloves and mask on.

'Another sample?' Junpei asked, glad his job didn't demand quite as much work. The other looked exhausted.

The scientist nodded, scanning his key-card at the door to admit the newcomers, a pair he only vaguely recognised. They only stayed long enough to hand him a capsule (larger than what he normally got but not _the_ largest; there had been a baluchitherum like skeleton once) along with the field report, then leave for some well earned rest.

'Call me if there's anything else that needs fixing,' Junpei said, heading for the door himself, before they automatically locked him in again (his key didn't work for the lab room).

'Sure thing,' the other replied, a little distractedly as he was already absorbed with the capsule.

The technician chuckled and left, leaving the scientist to his work.

* * *

><p>The second Kouichi looked into the capsule, he had realised there was something different about it. For one, it resembled an egg, like a chicken's egg, only bigger for one thing, and containing some sort of intricate patterns for another.<p>

He had looked at the assumed egg surface quite closely once he managed to work off the dirt, carefully drawing out the array of symbols and shapes he found before back-crossing them with the hieroglyphs already on record. He took the ten minutes required by the computer for th process to grab a quick snack; a nap would have to wait if they were planning on moving out soon. That tended to happen quite frequently; a dull period while the archaeologists were out searching, then long busy hours when the findings fell over each other.

Well, he mused. A least he had gotten a brief break this time.

The scanning complete, he looked at the screen printing their results. The hieroglyphs, someone had discovered (not him; his job was to decipher sediment structures, soil content and physiological associates, though the only chances he'd had of the latter revolved around separating their growing research to the kingdom of "Digital Monsters" as they has been named by the biomorphologist, from other known organisms that inhabited the same earth as they) contained a cross of ancient Egyptian and a more complicated level of computer code that few people outside the scientific institute knew about, much less understood. Interestingly. The only evidence they had been able to find on a once living life-form (the rest were on walls of what looked to be once great structures no descended into rubble with time and age) was the phrase "Digital Monster" which had led to the naming of this kingdom…no, superkingdom, because they had been able to find no evidence of cellular life. It could bring about a new wave of scientific research; life possible without the smallest units of life known to mankind.

This one read differently. It said two things actually, criss-crossing over one another in their endless repetitions. 'Poyomon" – must be a name, he surmised, because it was no word he was aware of, and "baby" which was quite obvious.

He searched the Poyomon through the database anyway, but came up with nothing. He hadn't expected to that early, turning away from the lab monitor to stare at the egg and the sediment soils, both now separated from each other.

The soil always went before the structure, so he mounted a slide, separating the rest out into the clean test-tubes and staining each with a different dye to indicate content.

What he found was a little…odd. Normally, the metallic content was high, but in this particular content, it was virtually non-existent. And that wasn't the only thing. All the essential elements that made up viable protein structures: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen etc., appeared to have been leeched from the soils but there were no saprotrophs or detrivores present at all, or any evidence of such. The soil had, essentially, been sucked dry.

He wondered if there was something parasitic in or on the egg. But there wasn't. What he found however under the microscope, piercing through the hard exterior with a nanoscope, was something he had not expected in the slightest.

Protein structures in a constant dynamic, for unlike the decayed structures down to their most stable forms he had always seen.

That thing inside the egg was alive. Alive. And all this time, they had been researching an extinct civilisation.

He knew there was nothing of this on the database. He was sure of it. And yet, staring at the shifting strands (which somewhat resembled DNA except it lacked the four nitrogenous bases, instead containing segments of codes they had linked back as similar to the artificial intelligence computer programmes, though somewhat unreplicable), he couldn't help but get an almost frightening sense of déjà vu. But he couldn't fathom why.

But it wasn't on the records. Every piece of information someone discovered went on to that database. _Everything._

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><p><span>Post Author's Notes<span>

In a gross simplification, you could say that protein make viable living bodies. After all, DNA codes for amino acids, which link together to form proteins that basically make up a functional body. Some metals are trace elements, ort of like point centres that help structure and stability, and other elements – seriously, don't need to explain hydrogen and oxygen. Yamaki mentioned in season 3 that digimon bio-emerged into the real world by synthesising protein bodies. Protein is made out of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and the nitrogenous bases…oh yeah, and sulphur. Then they have other stuff with them sometimes, like copper and ion in haemoglobin for oxygen transport etc. The way organisms synthesise these is a major divider in classification. Lots of bio and chem. In there. Ironic, 'cause I was doing thermodynamics (physics) when I wrote this up.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Human Nature<span>

AU There are times when humans are the worst monsters of them all. There are some who would do anything for wealth and power. Even resurrect an age that could destroy them all. But not everyone's going to let that happen.

Kouichi K & Junpei S

Genre/s: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure

Rating: T

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

'Damn them,' one of the technicians cursed shifting his hand underneath his head as everybody began to resettle for the new voyage. 'Those androids are going to run us out of our jobs soon.'

'I wonder how many people actually like them,' Junpei mused, doing the same on the lower bunk. 'You notice the scientists always call one of us first. And the digger squads take one of us regardless of whether they have an android flying the thing. Half the time, we have to fix _them_.'

'Not anymore,' a third, from the other low bunk, rolled his eyes. 'Haaven't you seen the latest model? Deployed with the last squad before fall-back?'

The brunette shook his head. 'I know I haven't because I was fixing one of the microscopes when the goods came back.' He looked at his peer closely. 'Why Teppei?'

He scowled. 'They're getting better,' he said ominously. 'There and back without a single problem. Once upon a time, flying those things was our job.'

'That's one job we've already lost,' the first guy, slightly older than the rest and older still then Teppei, who was essentially the baby of the bunch. 'They're cheaper labour.'

'-once all the kinks are worked out-'

'-and they're programmed to perfection. Not to mention they'll be able to build them by the dozen. Where'll that leave us?' Katsuharu finished, glaring at Teppei for the interruption.

'Easy.' Junpei took his hands out from behind his head and held them up in front of him. 'They've got a long way to go before they're good enough. We'll be old men at the least by then.'

'That's true,' Katsuharu sighed. 'But think about what that means for future generations. People at this institute will be losing jobs, and if they expand the market to the normal sectors, there's going to be a lot more unemployed people.'

Teppei sighed nasally, folding his own arms behind his neck. 'They'll never be able to replace humans,' he said confidently. 'They're _artificial_. They can't think.'

Junpei raised an eyebrow. 'I thought you said they'd run us out of our jobs?'

'That was him.' The younger boy jerked his thumb at the eldest before his hand returned to its previous position. 'They're probably no real jobs to be taken right now anyway, just leaving Tokyo and all-'

Their door slid open, proving them wrong.

'Shibayama Junpei,' the android intoned, a hunk of aluminium alloys that had two arms, a head and a computer like body and two disk plates that functioned for mobility using voltage gradients.

Junpei scanned his IDA (Identification and Access=s) card through the slot proffered to him, and within seconds the code was processed, approved and the blinking like switched from red to green.

'Your presence is requested in conference room H-15,' the android droned. 'Tome 0900 hours.' A burst of static divided the actual message from the routine confirmation. 'Message delivered, 0857. Confirmation requested.'

He slotted the card through again and tapped in the appropriate sequence. Scans and codes everywhere; that's how the place worked. It also meant no-one could get to where their noses weren't wanted.

'0857?' Teppei repeated once the android had left. 'That's only three-'

The expected was gone before the sentence was complete.

His two roommates (their last was currently doing some maintenance on a lacking messanger already) exchanged glances, then frowned simultaneously.

'Why do they want him?'

'You're asking me?' The brown eyes looked after their peer. 'Maybe it's a job.'

Katsuharu frowned. 'In the conference room? At this point, they normally call us directly. Besides, have you ever been to a briefing in the H sectors? That's like all hush-hush.'

'That's true,' the other agreed. 'And we're still in Hokkaido. They can't be deploying a scout or digger team already.'

The elder rolled his eyes. 'The term is archaeologist,' he reminded. 'And they could. Research calibration.'

'They normally get the scientists to do that.'

'Joint mission?'

An eye roll. 'They're researching _dead_ specimen. Why would we possibly need a joint mission?'

'Virus? Bacteria? Some other life threatening thing?'

'Point.' He looked towards their joint door. 'Why are we racking our brains anyway. He'll tell us.'

'Sooner we don't get called for something broken.'

The door slid open again, admitting another android, this one smaller and more primitive...which meant volunteer for the usual repairs.

'Speak of the devil.'

* * *

><p>When Junpei arrived at the conference room, he found several people in various uniforms. There were two black-suited security guards which somewhat surprised him, as he had never seen them inside the facility before. There was another man looking quite important, which led him to assume he was a representative of the government. There was another in military uniform with the stars indicating the rank of a Colonel, a rather young fellow by the looks of things but stern nonetheless. And on the other side were a pair frowning over some paperwork. Well, one of them was frowning, the other's expression was, on the whole, unreadable.<p>

Being the only two he recognised, he marched over to them and offered a salute.

'You requested my presence sir?' he asked, fighting down the nervousness as he addressed the head scientist and highest in research preceding.

The older scientist looked at him. 'Shibayama Junpei?' he asked.

'That is correct.'

He nodded, gesturing at the seat across from the younger. Junpei took the seat, looking at the frown still gracing Kouichi's face, but the other didn't notice, absorbed in his own thoughts.

Once the young scientist finally looked up, the elder spoke.

It sounded simple enough. They had found a trace of life at their last stop, and the government wanted further investigation and development of the embryo.

'Perhaps I am not using the correct term,' he confessed. 'The embryo had not been damaged, and it developed during the six weeks that refuelling, major repairs, and updates took. As a technician, the details are not your concern, however as this is a collaborative research project, I would like you to join them.'

Junpei blinked. That had not been what he had expected. 'Why?' he blurted out, for a moment forgetting his company.

'So we don't have to return to base for every technical problem,' the Colonel replied in a patronising tone.

'Iie,' the brunette made to clarify. 'Why me specifically?'

'Because you're the most experienced in field situations,' the older scientist replied. 'You may have only worked in this institute for five years, but you've apprenticed with the military for years before that. The others apprenticed in government sectors and remained therein.'

'Not many young ones,' Kouichi added, looking at his father. 'The only other was with the archaeological team.'

'Only one archaeologist, the pilot and the android made it back,' the elder finished. 'They described an earthquake of some sort, but the seismologists detected no shift in the tectonic plates. That, and the confirmation of the egg-' He looked at his son, before continuing. '-led us to believe that these Digital Monsters may yet be alive.'

'And dangerous,' Junpei muttered, thinking about the lives that had been lost.

'Not necessary,' the younger scientist said softly. 'It could have just been a mother protecting their young.'

'Indeed,' the elder nodded, looking over at the government official and the Colonel from the Japanese army. 'Either way, the government wants further exploration of the area, and any living specimen brought back, or if they prove too dangerous, exterminated.

He wasn't too sure how he felt with the military being involved, but he fathomed they had more experience with surviving the unexpected.

'You have given him more than enough information.' The colonel crossed his arms. 'What information did you get from that egg?'

Kimura Yoshiyo looked at his son, who understood what the other wanted without any words being exchanged.

* * *

><p>Colonel Minamoto Kouji wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation as he was led into a smaller conference room, this one more like those used in corporate meetings with a laptop and projector connected, amongst other things. While the other tapped into his system, he took his time to reflect on the pieces which didn't fit as well as they should. The thing that bothered him first and foremost was that they were sending somebody of his rank who was only deployed for active duty when there was either a state emergency or war, or else the lower ranks had failed to complete the task. In fact, he didn't quite buy into the military's involvement altogether, but he supposed the loss of seven personnel on an archaeological dig that discovered the living remnants of a believed to be extinct race was enough. What was so important about the research though, he had to think, that required a higher link in the chain of command to get involved.<p>

On top of that, why was the scientific institute and the military dispatching their younger, more potential personnel. That was normally only done if the mission was the sort that could turn the tide of war or power in their favour, or else it was a simple mission as far as safety was concerned. The only time a team of younger members were thrown into the lion's den was when their loyalty was questionable, or else there was some larger trouble brewing.

He may be military personnel, but he wasn't a slave dog. He was sure however he hadn't done anything to get him into hot soup, so that left the second option. However, his hope for some enlightenment on the situation was sorely dashed.

'That's it?' he asked sceptically. The mission was actually more complicated than he had originally thought, mainly because some of the structures varied drastically from one another. Which meant that there wouldn't be a fit one, fit all method that could be used. However, that also made things interesting. What he was disappointed about however was that there seemed to be nothing worthy of causing any sort of trouble – except of the loss of three quarters of an archaeological team.

Another thing that was bothering him was the fact that the scientist looked a good ten years younger than hi, though he was certainly not acting consistent to that assumption.

The said scientist looked back at him. 'Were you after anything specific?' he asked.

The Colonel frowned. 'What happened to the embryo?' he questioned. 'Where is it now?'

'At the main research centre.'

The frown turned into a scowl. That meant it was practically unreachable except to a few select. Not necessarily suspicious; it was one of a kind after all, but he couldn't get his mind off the notion that there was something missing. Something important.

His scowl deepened and he snapped back to the archaeological scientist regarding him curiously.

'Can you use a weapon?' The question was somewhat snapped, mainly because of the physical appearance. He did _not_ want to be babysitting on a military expedition; there was already an eighteen year old Sergeant on board. He may be a legal adult in the eyes of the country, and he may be only four years younger than himself and his two Lieutenants, but he was also four years less experienced. Hence why it was almost reflexive for there to be somebody keeping an eye on him when he was on the field (he normally did the Intel because he was best at that), even if the newbie could take care of himself.

It would be a lot worse with a legal child that couldn't. Even if they would spend most of their time on base.

'Just a stun gun,' the other replied.

Well, that was better than nothing.

'Shibayama?'

'You'll have to ask him.'

'Call him,' the Colonel ordered.

The scientist regarded him, not exactly intimidated but taking care all the sam, before withdrawing the pager and sending a request.

Junpei arrived after a silent five minutes had passed, bowing politely at the door.

The raven haired Colonel fired his question again, being met in the affirmative. Further details showed he was as adept as his male second Lieutenant (the more experienced first lieutenant was a rare find), which was good enough for him.

'Be at Tokyo Launching base at 0600 tomorrow,' he commanded. 'And you.' He looked at the scientist who was now reading a new message on his pager, waiting till he was done before continuing. 'Report to First Lieutenant Orimoto in the left-most hanger.'

'Hai Taisa-san,' Kouichi replied. 'Anything else?'

'Sort out the access,' Kouji ordered, scowling again at the red light beeping on the other's pager. 'And have a brief ready.'

'Hai,' the other repeated, before bowing to both, saluting to one, and leaving to where he had been called.

He wondered about the other's obvious suspicion, but at the same time understood. He was somewhat uncomfortable about the new mission as well. If it was such an important mission, why separate it from the mainstream. Very few people overall were involved; half an archaeological team, a military subunit, the main board and himself and a single technician and the Government, which included the ones who ran the facility, including his father. His mother had died when he was five, of some sort of infection.

It almost seemed like they wanted as few people as possible involved and knowledgeable of the situation. Or maybe they were just safe-guarding against a hoax. After all, one egg didn't constitute a civilisation, and they weren't quite sure, as far as he knew, if it would survive long enough to be useful. Or to live its life.

Part of him felt sorry for the creature. Even before it breathed its first breath, it was a prisoner. But in the eld, they all were. Prisoners of the earth.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Notes<span>

Tomoki, Takuya and Izumi are sort of based off Sergeant Feury, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc and 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye in Fullmetal Alchemist. Kouji however is _not_ like Colonel Mustang. But as their personalities develop more, they'll further develop, and there are marked differences. It was just the military starting point for me.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Human Nature<span>

AU There are times when humans are the worst monsters of them all. There are some who would do anything for wealth and power. Even resurrect an age that could destroy them all. But not everyone's going to let that happen.

Kouichi K & Junpei S

Genre/s: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure

Rating: T

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

He stood perfectly still as the automatic scanning process completed itself. It checked everything from the DNA in a single hair strand, unique eyes and fingerprint patterns, to health issues. The light went a pale sort of yellow as he confirmed the reading, accepting the handout he received after a brief delay. He hadn't been expecting a green bill of health. After all because of his hectic hours he hadn't slept a decent amount for a while (he couldn't define an exact time frame) and not at all since they left the last encampment. It didn't really matter that he was getting payed overtime at this stage; it wasn't like he had ever left the institute after his mother's death. He didn't know how long that had been either. The research field may be dynamic, but the rest of his world was relatively stagnant. He would normally get a chance to catch up on his sleep when they were relocating...after all the last minute issues were sorted out, but just the premonition that he wouldn't be getting that opportunity was making him almost fall asleep on his feet.

The readout basically said as much, although it listed the symptoms in its scientific jargon before stating its conclusion. It seemed a little futile, he mused, tucking the page in with his pager and retrieving the other requested papers. He hadn't "sorted out the access"; the Colonel's other order, but he did double check the work of the administrator who had done so, and it seemed to be in perfect working order from a disconnected port with the correct access codes. The codes were necessary otherwise anyone could get into anything, and goodness knew how dangerous right knowledge could be in the wrong hands.

He took his IDA card back from the android and scanned it through the door, exiting the medical wing. Another scan at the main door validated his passport and status, and he took his first step in a lifetime out of the scientific institute that had been his whole world.

He wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting. The outer world was certainly not as rigorously controlled as the institute and gave the overall impression of being grey as opposed to white, but it somewhat reminded him of the photo scans of the decimate civilisations of the past. Even the sky was grey. The artificial sky in the institute was a pale blue. He hadn't seen much else because the windows of their transport were covered, except when climbing in and out. It didn't matter he supposed; he'd be seeing the real world soon enough.

The Colonel had either forgotten or failed to mention where or how or even when he wanted the summarised file. It certainly would be more convenient in the purpose of learning and understanding some distinguishing features and knowing what to look out for; in a case like this, the database was only useful in the finer details. That would likely not be necessary at the beginning, when simply looking for a sign of life. He debated the point a moment, before dropping them into the inbox and heading off to the left most hanger.

He knocked on the door. Luckily too as a woman answered, dressed in the generic military uniform sans the overcoat that had been cast aside as not to get grease all over it, seeing as she had been oiling...something or other. Some sort of machine gun model, he thought. It resembled the emergency stun-guns they were equipped with...extremely vaguely. They were far bigger, had magazines in place of the rechargeable battery, and looked a great deal more complicated...but that was only because he knew nothing about them.

The blonde First Lieutenant stared at him blankly a moment, then at the trademark laboratory coat that was, strictly speaking, his uniform.

'Kimura-hasake?' she asked him, as if wondering what the world was coming to, employing someone as young as he appeared.

Kouichi nodded, memorising the other's face and form. 'First Lieutenant Orimoto?'

She looked at him with sharp green eyes. 'Off the field, it's Izumi,' she said. 'I'm not Japanese, nor one to waste my time with unneeded formalities. We'll probably be spending months together without outside physical contact, so I hope you're ready for it.'

She stood back to admit the other, before reassembling the gun she had been working on. 'How old are you?' she asked bluntly.

The other blinked in surprise. No-body had actually asked him that before. The closest someone had ever come was Junpei, simply questioning his apparent lack of aging. Come to think about it, he couldn't be sure how old he was because he didn't know the date. The database was organised using a sort of code that did not rely on time.

'What year is it?' he asked instead.

The woman gave him an odd look, but answered the question.

'25 then,' the scientist said after a moment of computing numbers in his head. 'Or 26 if my birthday's passed.'

'It's April.' If anything, the odd look increased. '24th.'

'My birthday's in July,' the other affirmed. '25 then.'

Izumi raised a blonde eyebrow at the conclusion, before giving him a more critical look as though gauging his physical capabilities.

'Twenty push-ups,' she ordered suddenly.

The other stared at her at a complete loss.

'You do know how to do a push-up...right?'

Kouichi shook his head.

'Sheesh,' the female muttered. 'No wonder you look like you're going to fall asleep on your feet.'

She dropped down on the mates and completed five with ease, arms strong and body straight as a board.

The other tried to copy her and she jumped up to correct him. His arms were shaking by the third though, and by the time he had gotten all twenty done, half his head had given up on him and gone to bed.

'That's pretty pathetic,' the Lieutenant remarked, crouching down beside him on the mats. '_What_ do you do when you're not working?'

'Sleep or study,' the other replied, breathing deeply. 'Never had much time for anything else.'

She harrumphed, standing and crossing her arms. 'No wonder,' she muttered. 'On your feet. At this rate, you won't even survive running for your life and the Colonel wants you in top shape by the time we're there. Just in case. And that's not just in using weapons, but surviving whatever's thrown your way.'

She suddenly whipped something at him. A coffee cup he noticed once he ducked and it bounced harmlessly on the maps behind him.

'Too much movement,' Izumi lectured, coming over to pick up the mug. 'You're wasting energy, but we'll work on that later. Endurance. Strength. Strategy.' She paused. '20 laps round the maps, and don't use up all your energy because there's more coming and you're going to keep doing it till I think you can't move another centimetre. Then we'll take it from the top again tomorrow.'

He definitely wasn't used to this sort of rigorous training. The last time he had been ordered around with such zeal was when he had been completing his PhD studies in the molecular division of the institute and had been a part of a team researching a new viral strand, And it had been nothing like this.

Izumi smirked at him. 'Welcome to base camp,' she said. 'Let's hope you'll be ready for the real world.'

After all, anything could be achieved if one simply tried hard enough.

* * *

><p>The Colonel flicked through the "briefs" with interest. They were more descriptive and animated than what he usually got, and far better written.<p>

'He calls this a brief?' he asked out loud, frowning outwardly. To be honest, he was pleased the scientist had done it more than adequately the first time, although he evidently wasn't familiar with the unwritten "making people wait" rule. That was both good and bad, depending on how it was taken advantage of. He supposed he couldn't blame the other, raised in the institute his whole life while _he_ had to earn his place in the real world.

He heard the door open and tossed the pen that was twirling between his fingers. There was a soft sound, before he caught the return projectile and replaced the cap.

'What's with you all and tossing things?' Junpei grumbled.

Kouji gave him a half glance. 'You're not prepared at all times and you've find yourself a dead man,' he said flatly. 'What is it?' Then, noting he was at strict attention, he sighed. 'That's only necessary in an office. No-body gives a crap about protocol here.'

'Hai,' the technician responded, relaxing but still keeping from relaxing completely. There was just something intimidating about the Colonel, something frightening.

Kouji noted that, without even directly looking at him. 'What is it?' he repeated, trying to keep the impatience out of his tone.

'Everything's been checked, fixed and cleared,' Junpei reported. ''ve double-checked with Sergeant-'

'No titles,' Kouji snapped, turning around fully. 'In these assignments, each squad is left to themselves and each other. You're a part of that now, so you need to treat this place like your home, and the people your family.'

The way he said that was a little odd, but the other continued anyway.

'Tomoki check as well.'

Kouji turned back to his reading. 'Have you seen Takuya?'

'Who?'

A slight growl. 'Second Lieutenant Kanbara, and I'll take that as a 'no'.'

He pressed a button somewhere. 'He'll fill you in on how things work and show you your paces. Meals are at 6am, 2pm and 8pm, for half an hour. Everyone is expected to adhere to the duty roster. Apart from that, I don't care what you do till we're on the job.''

'House-chores?' the brunette asked.

'Of course.' There was a slightly more annoyed growl. 'Tell me that institute lets you do your own house-keeping.'

'Well...' Junpei rubbed the back of his head. 'Marginally. Equipment mostly, but the scientists always clean their labs too. Everything else is taken care of by the androids.'

'Hmmph.' Kouji turned back. 'Good luck surviving then.'

Another brunette appeared at the door then, looking more boisterous and far less intimidating. A little too lax for Junpei though; the scientific institute always promoted rigidity and respect. It sounded like, apart from meal time, there was no set schedule in transit. He had been on field before, remotely, but never in transit. It was certainly different.

Takuya gave him a quick once-over, before glancing at his superior.

'Want me to show him the ropes?'

'Why do you think I called you?' the other deadpanned. 'Especially after your forgetfulness.'

Takuya just grinned and flicked a wrist. 'Come on,' he gestured at Junpei, leading him out of the other's quarters. 'Don't mind him. He's always like that. If he didn't like you, you'd know it.'

'He doesn't like the institute,' Junpei said flatly.

'Me neither,' the other brunette shrugged, knocking on a door. 'Too rigid and controlled. You specialise in one area only. The infirmary,' he added, as the door was opened by a brown haird woman. 'Doctor Chiaki Kiyomizu.'

She looked him over, then grinned and nodded. 'Technician?'

'Yess...Chiaki?'

'Good. Kouji's got into your head enough.'

'Busy?' Takuya asked, noting the gloves.

She suddenly scowled at him. 'I'm still working on Teruo. Next time, keep away from permanent damage before I give you a matching set.'

Takuya grinned sheepishly. 'It was an accident.'

At least the other introductions weren't so...sparky. Apart from the Doctor and her patient, a field major who normally worked under intelligence but was occasionally deployed into investigation, was Sergeant Himi who he had already met, and unfortunately, an AI unit helping with flight control. The only other was First Lieutenant Orimoto, who by then was back to polishing her guns as they bumped into Kouichi outside the door. He immediately decided that no matter how different everyone looked, no-one should be messed with.

It would take quite a bit of getting used to. He wasn't sure he liked that too much. The good thing about the institute was that it was perpetually unchanging for someone like him. He couldn't understand what both the Colonel and the 2nd Lieutenant had against it.


End file.
